Belleville, ON (July 10, 2017) – The Toyo Tires F1600 Series took to Shannonville Motorsport Park this past weekend. A mix of rain and sunshine livened up the weekend events.
An exciting first race at Shannonville Motorsports Park for the Toyo Tires F1600 Championship! Thirty minutes after a downpour the drivers took to a damp but drying track. Stephen Adams took the lead from Ben Hurst at the green flag only to lose it in the last corner on lap 2. A little spin by Hurst in turn one put him third behind Adams and Graham Lobban.
On lap six Adams is issued a drive-through penalty for jumping the start and at the same time a full course yellow is displayed for James Lindsay Racing who was off at the hairpin in a precarious position.
Green flag drops a second time on lap ten with Lindsay rejoining the field. Hurst and Lobban drag raced down the back straight with Hurst coming out in the lead.
At the chequered flag it was Hurst, Lobban and Adams. A Class podium – Ben Hurst, David Taylor and Keith Lobban. B Class podium – Graham Lobban, Stephen Adams and Steve Bodrug. The Wayne Gretzky Estates Winery & Distillery Masters Hard Charger Award – Steve Wagland.
Race two of the Peter Jackson Trophy Races at Shannonville Motorsport Park was a wild one for the Toyo Tires F1600 crew as off-track excursions, spins and a full-course caution kept drivers on their toes.
Ben Hurst started on pole after setting the fastest lap in race one, and he was followed by Graham Lobban, Stephen Adams and Keith Lobban on the grid.
As the green flag waved, Graham Lobban wrestled the lead into turn three, followed by Hurst and Adams, the trio running nose-to-tail toward the turn four carousel. The trailing pair were then caught out at the braking point, and both went bounding through the grass in taking evasive action. Lobban then had a comfortable lead to work with as a result, but Hurst was consistently working his way forward after rejoining, and just past what would prove half distance, a decisive pass at the chicane moved him back to second place. Adams was doing much the same, and he had recovered to sixth when a full-course caution waved for Noel Castell’s Zinc becoming beached inside the final turn. Following the recovery, one lap remained when the green flag flew for a final time.
Graham Lobban led from Hurst, his brother Keith, Danby Crowder, Mike Lee and Adams, but evasive action would be required once again! This time it was a Keith Lobban spin in the esses that sent Adams, who had passed Lee and Crowder on the restart, and Lee reeling. Adams went left making hard contact while Lee went right and into the weeds before a red flag waved.
The lead pair had raced to the checkered as Graham Lobban beat Hurst to the line for a wild, wild outright win! Timing and Scoring then reverted back one lap due to the red flag, leaving the ‘A’ Class podium as Hurst, Keith Lobban and Danby Crowder, and the ‘B’ Class podium as Graham Lobban, Mike Lee and Adams, who was also awarded the Wayne Gretzky Estates Winery & Distillery Masters’ Award for his efforts in the morning run.
Ben Hurst was once again leading the way at the Peter Jackson Trophy Races when drivers took to the track for the third and final time at Shannonville Sunday afternoon.
Pole came by virtue of having the fastest lap in race two, and after setting the fastest lap in field early in race three, the Brian Graham Racing driver had a lead he would never relinquish.
Opposite to the morning run, Hurst held the lead at the wave of the green and wasn’t challenged from start to finish. The gap at the checker equated to nearly one second per lap, and the winning margin was just over eleven seconds following twelve green laps.
The classes in both fields were largely spread in the final start, with Hurst winning from David Taylor and Connor Wagland in ‘A’ Class, and Lobban finishing second overall and winning the ‘B’ Class from Steve Bodrug and James Lindsay, who made his first appearance on a Toyo Tires F1600 Championship Series’ podium. Danby Crowder was earned the Wayne Gretzky Estates Winery & Distillery Award after being the top finishing Masters’ driver in the ‘A’ class.
